A Guide to Pumping While Driving

For working moms with a longer drive, try pumping in the car. If this route interests you, please purchase a hands-free breast pump or even a Haakaa style breast pump. This will allow you to remain hands-free while driving. You will also need all the right supplies, which you can find in my post about pumping at work. I would suggest getting everything hooked up while you are parked. This might mean set everything up to pump before you leave home. Or finding a parking lot about 20 minutes from work and pulling off to set up for pumping in the car.

Before You Begin to Drive

Before you begin to drive, you’ll want to make sure you have everything that you need. Take a moment to set everything up and get comfortable. Make sure you pump and supplies are secure and won’t jostle around while you are driving.

Supplies for Pumping in the Car

Now that you got your hands-free breastpump, pumping parts, and an adaptor for your car, there are a few other supplies to consider. Jump in the car and make sure everything works before your first trip.

Once you have everything hooked up, you may wish to consider a nursing cover to use while you drive. They give you a little more privacy from other passing motorists. I love the Bebe au Lait brand because the top pulls out a few inches so you can see baby and your breastpump flanges. These have been my go-to item for breastfeeding in public and pumping in the car or office.

If you want even more coverage, you could try out a wearable blanket with an open bottom. These would better cover your entire top half but do make it more difficult to see what you are pumping and ensure there are no problems.

Getting Set Up Before Pumping While Driving

You’ve got all your supplies, but what do you actually do with them? Yes, that’s a big question. If you purchased a Haakaa style pump, setting up is super easy because you don’t have an extra pump or any wires. However, you may not find these as effective as a hands-free breast pump.

Breast Pump Placement in the Car

Where you place everything will really depend on the size of your breast pump and length of your air tubes. A few different options exist to give you the best positioning for your specific car and pump. Be sure to check out your own car for the best place and double check that the air tubes will reach you comfortably.

Some cars have a slide open console in the middle. This can be a great place to store your breast pump as there is usually less room for it to move. Plus, it is super close to you while you drive. Another option is the passenger seat. This is usually close enough for comfort but also large enough to accommodate most breast pumps. I suggest using the seat belt to secure your pump in place so it doesn’t fall while driving. One last option is to buckle your breast pump into your child’s car seat, especially if this is behind the driver’s seat. This secures the breast pump, and is usually close enough for comfort.

Whichever you decide, I highly suggest attempting a practice pumping in the car before you try it driving. Take a few minutes when your little one is sleeping or another adult is home to watch your baby and give pumping in the car a try. Even if you don’t turn on the pump, hook it up and move around a bit to see how it feels.

Getting Set Up Before the Drive

Before you even get in the car, I suggest putting on your hands-free pumping bra. This is a necessity when planning to pump in the car and isn’t easy to change into once you are on the road. Be sure to get a comfortable one you can wear all day or one that easily slips on and off just for pumping.

Once you are in your car, you will want to get everything set up before you begin driving. If you have a long drive, you might want to plan a stop closer to work to set up your pumping supplies so you are ready to pump. I like to get everything in it’s space first. This means setting up my pump where I like it and making sure it’s plugged in or batteries work. I like to turn mine on just to double check. Then emptying most of my cup holders so I have space for my milk bottles or extra milk. I do keep my water bottle with me when driving.

Be sure to have a special space for storing the bottle lids so these are easy to reach. You won’t want to be digging through a cup holder or bag to find them. I love to use one of the little compartments to hold the lids. Either the area behind your digital display screen, the glasses holder, or the top of your center console if there are edges to keep the lids on. I also like to place my cooler in the back seat so it’s easy to reach but not rolling around the floor in the front.

Put Your Seatbelt on First!

After everything is set and ready for pumping, put on your seatbelt before attaching the pump to yourself. You will want to make sure none of the wires are stuck under the seatbelt and that you are comfortable. You also won’t want to jostle the pumping tubes or wires when you need to put on your seatbelt. Then go ahead and slip on your pumping cover and get everything hooked up.

Pumping While Driving

Since you’ve already hooked up all your pumping supplies, it becomes really easy to actually do the pumping. Whenever you are ready to begin, just turn the breast pump on and begin. Allow the pump to run as long as you need and then switch it off. So easy since you all ready did all the work.

Depending on the length of your drive, you might just want to leave the pump hooked up until you arrive. However, if your drive is longer, I suggest finding a spot to park for a few moments while you unhook the pump. You can set all your bottles into the cup holders, so long as the cupholders are empty. Then take off all the parts or just leave the other parts on until you arrive at your destination.

After pumping for your ideal time, be sure to find a safe place to park. Again, this lets you take care of turning off and unhooking the machine without driving. For many moms this is their work parking lot. If you have a little breast pump cooler, you can easily store your milk until you are ready to head home to your little one.

Once You Arrive At Work

When you finish pumping, you can just turn off the machine and continue to drive with everything hooked up. Then when you arrive at work (or a safe space to park), you can take care of unhooking everything. Hopefully you have placed the caps in an easy to reach location and you can take care of securing your breastmilk for your baby. Every precious drop is so important and getting caps on quickly saves you from any spills.

As soon as you are able, move your closed bottles into the cooler. This keeps your milk at the appropriate temperature for safe storage. I then take a movement to unhook myself and get myself dressed for work. This might take a moment or two and I’m always grateful for the nursing cover right now. I simply place all my pumping parts into a separate compartment of my box of parts so that the clean ones are separated from my used ones. If you don’t have the storage area, you could place the entire pumping piece in the cooler and fix them up inside.

You’ll need a few minutes to pack up your breast pump. I like to place my breast pump in the bottom of my bag. Then place in my cooler and container of pump parts on top of it. Finally, I drape my nursing cover over the top of my bag. Not only do the nursing covers look pretty, they are large enough to cover all my breast pump supplies as I make my way inside.

Using the Car for your Pumping While At Work

Sometimes your work place will not have a safe and secure place for a working mother to express her milk. If the only space your employer can offer you is the bathroom, you may wish to consider using your car instead. This is a private space that is all yours.

Privacy for Pumping in the Car

If this is your pumping place, I suggest trying to park in a more secluded location. The back of the parking lot, off to one side, or facing away from the building. This will give you a little privacy but definitely isn’t necessary. You could also consider a car windshield sunshade for a little more privacy and a sunshield for your driver’s side window too.

A benefit of using your car is that you won’t need to bring everything into the office, but instead can keep the supplies hooked up in your car. That will save you from needing to carry everything inside and back out at the end of the day. Your arms will definitely get a work out if you pump inside your work place.

Special Cautions when Pumping in the Car

You will need to consider your pump pieces and keeping your used pieces separate from your clean pieces. For this, you may want to consider having a separate bin to store the pieces after you use them. I usually add a few towels into the bottom of the bin and around the sides for ease of cleaning when I get home. I can put my pumping supplies into the dishwasher and change out the towels for new ones.

You will not want to leave your cooler of expressed milk in the car if you can help it. The heat tends to overheat your car and will make your cooler work over time. If possible, bring your cooler into your work place where it is hopefully a more controlled temperature. If you are often driving for work, keeping the cooler with you is less of an issue since you will most likely keep the air conditioning or heating on while you are in the car.

Lastly, I like to lay my nursing cover over my breast pump to keep it a little more concealed in my car. Covering your breast pump not only keeps prying eyes off of it, but keeps it a little more protected from the sun too.

Not Just For Working Moms

Pumping in the car isn’t just for the working moms either. Many times we want to take a road trip when our baby is still breastfeeding. Pumping in the car gives us the option to try a longer road trip for vacation or visiting family without limiting our distance. Many times we will just stop the car to feed our little one, but sometimes time is of the essence. If you know you will be traveling, you could definitely try out pumping in the car.

If you need to pump for any reason, sometimes the drive can be a great time. First, baby has their own seat and you aren’t giving up time with your little one to pump. Second, longer drives allow you to pump a bottle and then immediately feed the bottle to your little one. You wouldn’t even need a cooler this way, but I would bring one just in case. This can limit your stops along the way and make the drive more enjoyable for everyone.

Notes on Batteries and Adapters for Breast Pumps

As you consider pumping in the car, make sure to have a solution for plugging in your breast pump. This may be easy as most cars have plugs or you can buy an adapter for your cigarette lighter. However, with the upgrades to many cars, you may need to find a rechargeable battery pack for ease of pumping. Be sure to have the required voltage so as to not cause any damage to your breast pump or your car (or even burn through too many battery packs). As each car and breast pump is different, this is something that you will need to read about and purchase prior to beginning.

Any other car pumping mamas out there? Drop us a comment below and let us know about your experience or best tips for pumping in the car. I promise you, it really is possible and not as complicated as it seems.

Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.